Driver Used Heroin Right Before Crash: Police

RIVERSIDE, IL — Several people were injured in a Aug. 6 car crash in Riverside after a man used heroin while driving and then rear-ended another car, according to police.

Police were called at 6:30 p.m. to the crash at First Avenue and Ridgewood Road, Riverside police reported, and fire crews and paramedics were called to help those injured.

The driver, identified as Lucas S. Szekely, 24 of the 1200 block of West Flournoy Street in Chicago, was slurring his speech and having trouble keeping his eyes open, police reported, and he said he was taking medication for a heroin addiction. He had a head injury from the crash.

Szekely said he'd just ingested heroin with a hypodermic needle before the crash, police reported. He was taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn for treatment.

The people in the car that was hit were treated by paramedics and didn't need to go to the hospital.

Police found hypodermic needles, a bottle of prescription medication, and a small plastic bag containing a brown rock-like substance that field-tested positive for heroin in Szekely's pockets.

Other hypodermic needles and a burned spoon were found in the car.

Szekely was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs (heroin), felony possession of a controlled substance (heroin), possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful use of an electronic device (cell phone), failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

He was released from MacNeal Hospital back into police custody so he could be processed.

“The heroin epidemic is far more widespread than just a heroin addict sitting in a dark alley shooting up," Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said in a statement. "They are getting into vehicles and driving on our roadways which have the potential to end tragically.”